Mainly clear. Low near 60F. Winds light and variable..
Mainly clear. Low near 60F. Winds light and variable.
Ed Peckham hands the Ground Zero flag over to Charlie Caudill in the sprinkling rain at the McDonald’s parking lot on Thursday in Catlettsburg.
Ed Peckham holds the marble cross.
Ed Peckham displays the Ground Zero flag.
Charlie Caudill signs the Ground Zero flag book on Thursday.
Ed Peckham hands the Ground Zero flag over to Charlie Caudill in the sprinkling rain at the McDonald’s parking lot on Thursday in Catlettsburg.
Ed Peckham holds the marble cross.
Ed Peckham displays the Ground Zero flag.
Charlie Caudill signs the Ground Zero flag book on Thursday.
CATLETTSBURG Standing in the misty McDonald’s parking lot Thursday, Kentucky Patriot Guard member Charlie Caudill is noticeably nervous.
It’s Caudill’s first time as the Ride Captain on a mission for the guard — meaning, he’s the one in charge of planning the logistics and making sure everything goes smoothly.
Normally, the job of the Patriot Guard is to escort military funerals — folks who lined the streets of Catlettsburg may remember the biker group riding in the procession with the remains of Cpl. Jacob Moore earlier this year.
Patriot Guard member John McGlone said the McDonald’s parking lot is common meet-up for the group — it’s close to a number of funeral homes and it gives folks the opportunity to grab a bite before the ride starts.
While Caudill and company have ridden in funeral procession, this is a little different.
On Thursday, they were picking up a priceless piece of history — the flag that flew in the rubble of the World Trade Center from Sept. 11 attacks until Nov. 2, 2001.
Everyone but the youngest remember that image — a lone flag, draped in the wreckage and carnage of the South Tower, affixed to a couple of beams sticking out of the rubble.
It was an image burned into the minds of all Americans, an image as iconic as the Old Glory over Iwo Jima.
Along with the flag came a marble cross, carved from a piece of broken marble found in the wreckage.
Since flying at Ground Zero, the flag has been around the country at various events to honor veterans and service members. It saw multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan — it even flew above the spider hole the deposed and disheveled Saddam Hussein was caught hiding in back in 2003 outside of Tikrit.
On Thursday morning, through the mist, it made its way across the river from the Mountain State to Catlettsburg, in the luggage carrier of one Ed Peckham, a member of the Christian Bikers and the WV Patriot Guard.
Peckham took the handoff from the Virginia branch in Beckley the day prior — he and his cohorts stopped in Charleston, where they flew the flag above the city fire house for 9 minutes and 11 seconds.
Peckham is a bit of character — at the sound of an import sedan chirping tires in a nearby parking lot, he lets out a “Shazam!”
But when it comes to his patriotic duty, he’s as serious as a heart attack — wearing white gloves, he formally transfers the flag, cross and a sign-in book to Caudill, as the men of both branches of the Patriot Guard stand at attention.
After the formal hand-over, Peckham takes the relics out of the protective carrying case to show everyone in attendance.
In reverence, he looks at the folded flag in his hand. Caudill appears more relaxed as he signs the book.
Then it’s off to Bardstown, where they will transfer it over to another set of Patriot riders for an event in Owensboro on Friday.
The Ground Zero flag will continue appearing throughout the country until Nov. 2, 2026, when it will be retired and put on display at a 9/11 Memorial.
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